My Seer, My Secretary
by Zarius
Summary: (Fred Wolf Cartoon): A powerful alien crystal gives Irma the apparent ability to see into the future...just the thing if you want to impress the boss at work! However, it's not long before any and all things are made possible. A gun-weilding geek and a rampaging cyborg Tyranosauros are amongst the ingrediants of an immediate and imperfect future...
1. Chapter 1

**TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES:**

"**MY SEER, MY SECRETARY****"**

**WRITTEN BY ZARIUS **

**NOTE: This story takes place after ****"****Turtles Forever****"**** and is book two in a ten-book series of adventures for the Turtles**

**DISCLAIMER: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are properties of Nickolodeon, Characters from the 80s cartoon are properties of Fred Wolf. Original characters such as Malkite, Krator, and Pierce Mars are mine  
**

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

Across the brightly lit void of space, a majestic, dart-shaped crystalline star craft shot through the fabric of our known reality like a majestic swan in flight.

A rare beauty to behold in the universe, and in this particular instance, a prize just waiting to be caught.

In hot pursuit of it were two other craft, both were lean grey shafts of metal powered by ferocious rockets, ominous drills attached to their front, and it's mounted weapons bombarding the star craft with unforgiving laser fire.

Inside the craft, its alien crew, were wrought with concern, for one major priority occupied their feverish minds as they tried to work out how to best elude this terrifying onslaught.

"How goes the search Krator" said one of the two aliens, "Have you pinpointed a safe hiding place for the Tri-Osteron?"

"I'm doing a scan of this dimension's system now Malkite" replied his partner, as the craft was dealt another crucial blow, a blast setting fire to it's outer shell.

"Hurry" Malkite insisted.

Eventually, Krator had news.

"I've found something" he verified, "It's difficult to tell because the scanner has been heavily damaged, but if what I'm getting is even half-right, you are not going to like this"

"Test me" Malkite replied cynically

"The nearest planet in reach has a _regular_ night and day cycle" Krator confirmed. Malkite frowned at this.

"Are you sure there is nowhere else you can deposit it?" he asked, trying to salvage the situation with another suggestion, and hoping there was one

"The only other option is the planet's barren moon, but we both know our enemies have come from there" Krator responded.

Malkite, ever the nitpicker, was determined to find some sort of light at the end of the narrow tunnel, "Can you pinpoint what time of day it is on the planet?" he said, "We MUST be sure of ourselves"

Krator indulged his friend's desperation, and did another scan with the delicate and partially damaged equipment. His luck with it seemed to be holding, as some useful information was acquired from it.

"This planet has multiple time zones, the sun shines in one corner, and down on the other, we must be precise in our selections if we are to…"

Before he could finish, he was cut off by a small explosion as the ship took another crucial hit.

"We just lost our second engine" Malkite confirmed.

"I cannot delay any longer, jettison the Tri-Osteron. Put a tracking device on it. When we give our enemies the slip, we can set about tracing it"

Malkite nodded in agreement and took out a small jagged crystal from his pocket, he placed it in a small hatch at the side of the craft. He put his hand on a lever seated next to it.

"Commencing jettison…NOW" he said, and released his hold on the lever.

Tearing through the cloak of darkness came out shimmering shot of light as the crystal was thrown from the ship, hurtling towards the small blue planet a couple of meters away.

The craft attempted several elusive moves even on one engine, to outwit and escape the pursuing ships, only to be matched at every turn. With no consistent levels of speed, they stood no chance.

After taking a few more hits, the craft was forced to stop, enabling the two pursuing ships to mount a docking attempt. One of the enemy ships launched a small dart that hung over the captured star craft, the dart produced a bright energy net that encircled all three ships, binding them to one another.

"Krator, they're attempting to come aboard" Malkite cried out, Krator could do nothing, for the electrical net had completely ensnared them

It wasn't long before two of their pursuers disembarked from their craft, holding in their hands an ignited wielding torch. They spacewalked over to Malkite and Krator's craft and set to work on trying to enter it.

"Are they insane? If they breach the hull, we'll be sucked out into space, the lack of oxygen will kill us" Malkite said in alarm. Krator wasn't so sure

"I don't think so" he said, "Note that our visitors are wearing no space suits, I think that energy net is somehow capable of sustaining life within it so long as it's active"

Malkite was impressed by the level of advanced technology their pursuers had, but the curiosity was not enough to distract him from the magnitude of his predicament.

In a span of mere seconds, the torch had cut a sizeable hole in the hull of the ship, allowing the two to come on board.

They were a peculiar sort. One resembled a hulking grey creature with a medium but sharp horn, the other had boarish features and a large snout for a nose. The two hissed and snorted, both breathing very heavily, and put an aggressive demeanour on full display.

"Alright rosweillies…where's that tri-thingy you got stashed?" the horned creature asked, holding Malkite at gunpoint

"You're too late, its out of all our reaches"

The horned creature glared angrily at Krator, but then, just for a second, something caught his eye.

"I see it. Bebop, look, see" he said, jubilant as he recognized the fading flicker of light as it reached the atmosphere of the planet.

A communicator attached to his belt buckle suddenly sprang into life with a commanding, and impatient, voice.

"Bebop, Rocksteady, report" came the voice "Have you secured the Tri-Osteron?"

"The aliens shot it into space boss, it's heading for Earth" Bebop confirmed. His master was not pleased

"Blast you two" he said, "You're always late to the party"

"Funny…I don't see anyone else here, must be a private party" Rocksteady replied

His master despaired at the stupidity on display.

"Oh be quiet you fools" he said "Take the aliens hostage, and do whatever you can to trace that crystal. Once we get our hands on it…the future won't be as full of surprises as it'd like to be "

And with an unsettling sound of wicked laughter, the communicator went blank.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

In a remote and remarkably cozy sewer lair hidden beneath the streets of New York, one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the brainy and resourceful Donatello, was hard at work in his head, trying to keep a level head.

"Relax, and repeat to yourself, "I am in control" came a gentle and soothing voice from one of Donatello's many self-help tapes designed to bring about peace of mind and body in any stressful situation. Donatello took deep breaths and repeated the words of encouragement

"I am in control" he said.

"You have never felt so balanced" the voice assured him

"I have never felt so balanced" Donatello repeated.

"Now, put one foot forward, and feel content you took this first step forward"

Donatello tried, only to find enormous difficulty as his toes began to shake. Before long, the rest of his body was wobbling. He tried to repeat the words and give him some kind of cantered focus, but it was not enough. Losing all control, he fell backwards and crashed into a heap on the floor.

The commotion was enough to warrant the attention of his Sensei, Master Splinter, who rushed into the lab to check on him.

"Donatello, are you alright?" Splinter asked. Donatello placed one hand on his hand and rubbed it gently.

"Oh I'll be fine Sensei. I just had another spill" Donatello replied. Splinter took Donatello's hand and helped him up.

"Are you sure it is wise to continue working on your device while you suffer from this condition?" Splinter asked.

"I'm seizing the moment" Donatello explained "I need to divert most of the power in the lair to the device I'm working on. The energy emissions might be giving me some light-headedness, but it's the only time I can afford to make good on my commitments to the project. I can't do all this with all the guys hogging the electricity for tv and microwaves"

Donatello walked over to a nearby seat and sat down, trying to relax, "You run along and watch your "_Lives of our Days_" DVD marathon on my laptop Master. I'll be fine"

"I will try to entertain myself" Splinter promised, "But remember Donatello" he cautioned, "he who stings like the sharpest bee, cannot become as gentle a butterfly"

With those parting words of wisdom, Splinter returned to the main living room of the lair, intending to settle down and watch his soap opera from Donatello's laptop, allowing Donatello to continue conducting his experiments using the power normally reserved for the television and other appliances.

"Right, back to work" Donatello said to himself, getting up from the seat and stretching his arms, trying to get some feeling back into his body, still rattled slightly by the shakes.

Suddenly, he was interrupted by a series of beeps going off as his nearby Turtle-com flared into life.

"April? April? Oh how do you patch into her frequency" came the hight-pitched, nerdish squeals of an all too familiar female voice. Donatello despaired as he caught on to who it was

"Oh no, not HER" he said.

With a deep sigh, he picked up the Turtle-Com from the desk and pressed the response button.

"Don't go anywhere Irma, I'm right here" he said.

Sure enough, the features of April O'Neil's well-meaning but often disaster-prone best friend, Irma Langenstien_, _appeared on the small monitor at the center of the Turtle-Com.

"Donatello?" she said, recognizing the Turtle by his bandana, "Oh, do you know where April is?"

"She's at the theatre with Michelangelo" Donatello explained

"Gee, I didn't't know Mike had a flair for the arts" Irma said

"He doesn't Donatello revealed. "April brought over to riff on the whole show. What's YOUR emergency Irma?" he continued, quickly changing the subject, he had really no time for this.

"April's the only one out of the two of us that knows how to programme a VCR" Irma revealed.

Donatello was quite close to boiling point at this bit of news.

"You have a DVD player" he quietly, but angrily, pointed out, "AND a Tivo. You're calling me at dead o'clock at night about THIS?"

"Ah quit your snipping you" Irma replied, just as annoyed now, "I was trying to play a few old tapes I found of my friends wedding days. I love that stuff. Puts me to bed with hope for another day"

The sentimentality of her needs calmed Donatello's temper, and he managed to find a still point again.

"Sorry Irma, I've just been really busy" he said. Irma nodded in understanding.

"So, what are you up this time of night anyway? Your Turtles night-owls or something? Does that make sense?"

"Bit of a lonely night, but that's the way it has to be for me" he said, "Master Splinter is here but he's…in deep meditation. Can't be interrupted. Nope" he said, not wanting to reveal what Splinter was truly up to for fear Irma would laugh.

"Say, why don't' I pop in and cheer you up? I'll even bring Pizza" Irma proposed. Donatello scratched his chin, pondering the prospect.

He knew Irma, despite her kinks, would be more fascinated in his work than the others, and might even encourage him a bit, boosting his ego with a perky motivational speech. With Leonardo taking the Turtle Van out for a midnight drive, Raphael at a comedy club, and Michelangelo and April making fun of a particularly dull play, he realized that, while he was grateful for the peace and solidarity, the continued presence of his dizzy spells and lack of real communication were likely the cause of his raised apprehension levels. He was not acquainted with long-term isolation, and needed someone to bounce off of, someone less in tune with what he specialised in, he desired an outsiders perspective.

"You know, that isn't half a bad idea" he said, "Come on down". Irma smiled at this

"Righty ho Neighbour" she said, putting on a mock salute. Donatello laughed, and Irma turned off the Turtle-Com from her end.

As she made preparations for her trip, Irma heard a sudden shattering of glass.

"What in tarnation was that?" she said, and rushed over to her kitchen window to investigate.

There, lying on her kitchen sink, a small, but sizeable crack left in the window serving as the point of entry, was a sparkling crystal object.

"What is this?" Irma said, picking it up and gently caressing it in her hand "It's beautiful…caused a bit of damage to my window though. The magpies must be being fed steroids by the government or something."

She took note of the errant green and white glow emanating from the jewel

"Wonder what's up with the light show?" she said "I'll give it to Donatello, and see what he makes of it"


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Inside the Technodrome, hidden away on the dark side of the moon, the highly skilled and world feared Ninja crime lord The Shredder and his partner in crime, the disembodied Dimension X warlord Krang, were interrogating the captive Krator and Malkite.

"I shall not ask again" Shredder said, slapping Malkite hard across the face with his gauntlet, as the alien refused to answer his questions. Malkite, his lip slashed open by the steel on Shredder's gauntlet, spat the blood in the direction of his captors.

"What is your means of tracking the missing Tri-Osteron?" Shredder continued, not phased by the resistance. He raised his hand again, ready to strike another blow. Krator opted to spare Malkite this humiliation and gave an answer.

"The guidance systems in our ship" he said, "But only we know how to operate it"

"Then you will lead us to the crystal" Shredder commanded.

"We will NEVER help you" Malkite said defiantly, "You seek the Tri-Osteron for evil purposes that fly in the face of our peaceful ways"

"I have ways of making you cooperate aliens" Shredder warned.

"Do your worst" Krator replied, "We were raised in the Brisbane Galaxy"

The name drop of their home galaxy was enough to spark a cautionary word from Krang to Shredder.

"That's one of the harshest systems in the universe, we may be in for a long process" he said.

"I assure you Krang, I will get what I want. I often do" Shredder replied.

"You won't get anything but our laughter" Malkite insisted, and, to prove his intentions, he let out a hearty chuckle.

"Mock the Shredder if you so desire, the last laugh will be mine" Shredder taunted, and snapped his fingers, a signal that summoned Rocksteady and Bebop, who were carrying a tray full of slimy, wriggling creatures with small fangs attached to their tiny mouths.

"Here's the slaver worms boss, just as you asked" Rocksteady announced. Shredder rubbed his hands, spat on them, and scooped up a handful of the worms in his palm. He approached Malkite and Krator with them and paraded them in front of their faces

"Last chance aliens" he said "Guide us to the Tri-Osteron, or this will be on your head"

"I thought these things went into their ears boss" Bebop pointed out. Shredder shook his head in despair.

"We will never help you" Malkite replied. Shredder's patience had now run thin.

"Very well" he said, and walked over to Krator's right ear, he took one of the worms and held it close to the ear. In a few moments, the worm launched from Shredder's finger, almost cat-like and tore through Krator's ear, nibbling at the flesh and making a nest for itself in the tiny holes produced.

Shredder walked over to Malkite and repeated the procedure. Both aliens let out deafening cries and began to make heavy slurs as their very being was tainted by the intrusive parasites.

After a few moments of struggle, the aliens went still, their heads rose up, saliva dripping from their mouths, their eyes glazed over. No longer altogether there, they were lost in a wilderness of the mind, desperately seeking direction.

"Now aliens" Shredder said, "Now…who do you obey?"

"We obey the will of the Shredder" Malkite and Krator spoke in unison

"Good, once we make repairs to your ship, you will take us to the Tri-Osteron, and to our assured future" he said, permitting himself another opportunity to laugh as he looked towards the opportunities that now awaited him,

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Back at the Turtles lair, Irma had made her way over with the pizza, but she was finding difficulty locating Donatello.

"Don? I'm here" she said. "Don?"

Wandering the living area, she spotted Splinter lying on the sofa, watching the laptop on the floor. Irma walked over to him

"Mister Splinter?" she said, "Do you know where…"

Splinter silently pointed to his right, Irma, glaring over to see what Splinter was watching, nodded in understanding and nipped over to where Donatello's workplace was stationed.

As she approached it, she heard a loud hum of electricity. She followed it to it's source.

"Don?" she said, peering round the entrance, and catching a glimpse of Donatello working feverishly on what appeared to be giant pillar of grey metal with a window in the centre. It was quite familiar to her.

"Irma, hi there. Come on in" Donatello said, inviting Irma to come over.

"Wow" Irma said, startled at the majesty of the device, "Isn't that…"

"Yep, my old Dimensional Portal. I've dragged it out of mothballs" Donatello proudly confirmed.

"Why?" Irma asked.

"Remember when we were transported to that alternative dimension where we met that other Shredder and he nearly destroyed all of reality?" Donatello asked

"I wasn't there for that. We were all fleeing from the giant mutant bananas remember? We had to figure out how to beat them on our own with you guys missing for most of it. Luckily the solution came down to a ravenous appetite and basic human teeth" Irma replied

"Believe me, you wouldn't have caught us at our best if you were there." Donatello revealed "High density emission in the multi-verse's dimensional matrix caused all our apprehension and anxiety levels to increase"

"In short, you got the willies?" Irma asked with a faint, but coy smile, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"To put it delicately" Donatello said, slightly embarrassed, "Anyway the point is, the alternate Shredder upgraded our Shredder and Krang's Technodrome with advancements and weaponry we have no possible means of comprehending in our own reality…and that would include Shredder and Krang"

"But that's a good thing right?" Irma asked " I mean, if those two modern day Ahabs don't know how to steer their own ship, they can't go after their choice of whale all that often, namely you guys, and bag the Earth in the process"

"I'd rest easy too, but lately they've been able to turn their standard transport modules into aerial fighters, it's only a matter of time before they work out how to operate the Technodrome completely, and, worse, they'll be able to grasp the full potential of their own portal and bring who knows what from other dimensions, let alone Dimension X. We've got to find them and put that thing out of commission before that happens" Donatello added.

"But how can you take out The Technodrome if you aren't familiar with the layout of it anymore?" Irma asked

Donatello put his hand behind his shell and began feeling for something, when he got a hold of it, he produced it and showed it to Irma. A microsopic black bug- like device with eight visible traction dots attached to it's sides

"Before we fought the alternate Shredder for the last time, the alternate reality's Donatello spoke of his vast experience with Utrom technology" Donatello explained "From those notes I was able to develop this, a technological virus I've dubbed "4K", If I can use it on the Technodrome, we'd never have to worry about it again"

"So you're wheeling out the portal to try and work out where The Technodrome is. Pro-activeness. I like that in a man" Irma said, impressed

"Gee thanks Irma" Donatello said

"I said a MAN mister, don't get any ideas" Irma added rather firmly

"Yeah yeah don't rub it in", Donatello replied, a little annoyed, "C'mon, I've worked up an appetite telling you what I'm doing"

Before they could dine on the pizza however, Donatello noticed a faint, errant glow coming from Irma's pocket

"What's that?" he said

"Oh, this jewel crashed through my apartment window" Irma said, taking the crystal out and showing it to Donatello, "I just figure a magpie have dropped it, then I thought "well they must be pretty 'roided"

Donatello took the crystal from her grasp and held it.

"I've never seen anything like this" he said

Irma rolled her eyes at such a clichéd line

"Donny, c'mon, that is SO corny, you've been to other dimensions and seen it all. One glowing trinket should be day and night to you"

"I'll conduct some experiments on it" Donatello said. Irma was hesitant

"I dunno, I like the mystery it brings" she said, "Give it to a science type and they'll just take the fun of it"

"Don't be stubborn Irma, for we all know this glow is radioactive in nature" Donatello said. With a sigh, Irma reluctantly agreed.

"I'll be back in a minute, just don't touch anything" Donatello said, walking away with the crystal, lost in thought. Irma sat down on a chair and stared at the clock. She didn't have much time to wait, she had other priorities this evening.

Donatello went over to his portal and leaned against it, staring into the glow, transfixed by the energies being sent out.

Suddenly, his body was illuminated and encircled by a beautiful green and yellow energy field. He was frozen to the spot, unable to move, and unable to even blink as his eyes became a window on what appeared to be the world.

Planes, cars, people, animals, cities, jungles, deserts, babies, all jumping out at him at once, the wild and busy picture all meshed together into a swirling vortex that swept his mind through all manners of activity, until it finally settled on an image of himself at work on his dimensional portal, with his fellow Turtles and Master Splinter watching television comfortably and without much fuss.

In the vision, Donatello succeeds in perfecting the portal, and all manner of friendly creatures swarm out. Jagged butterflies, pigs on motorized wheel carriages, and even ducks that acted, walked and talked like normal people….one constantly worrying about his money bin being stolen

Donatello allowed himself to be swept away by this vision, it seemed so perfect, so complete

But then, just like that, reality came back with a snap. A pulse in his brain went off, and the dizziness, brought on from tampering too much with the delicate dimensional vibration waves of the portal, kicked in again

His spells did not go unnoticed, as an impatient and curious Irma checked in on him and saw what was happening

"Donny, what's wrong?" she asked, deathly worried. She noticed he was swaying near the left side of the portal…the part that contained the "on" switch

"Donny, watch out for the…" she began, but it was far, far too late.

Donatello's body fell back and hit the switch, the portal flared into life. Another spell sent Donatello careening back, the hand holding the crystal thrown backwards into the shining nexus. Rather than go in, however, it instead set off a chain reaction, a dazzling shower of electrical sparks danced around it and the energies of the portal seemed to pass through it like a lightning bolt would madly pass through an unfortunate human bystander standing under a tree.

Eventually though, the energies stabilized and the portal began to suck Donatello into it. In a panic, Donatello cried out for Irma, now his only hope.

"Irma" Donatello yelled, "shut the portal down"

Irma ran over to the control panel and stared at the three unmarked buttons, "I don't know, all these buttons look the same"

"The middle one, hurry" Donatello said.

Irma tried pressing it, but it wouldn't budge

"It's stuck…oh darn it, it's time for the patented Langenstien touch" she said, and aggressively kicked the portal with her foot. As luck would have it, the kick tore apart a delicate component of the machine and it died a slow death, finally shutting down, Donatello fell down, crystal still in hand, although it had now changed colour from a dazzling crimson to a clear white

Irma picked up Donny and slung her right arm around his shoulder to support him, "Are you alright Don?" she asked

"I'm sorry Irma, I've been having these spells ever since I started working on the portal" he said

"Too many reversals of the neutron flow?" Irma joked

"How'd you guess" Donatello asked, surprised Irma knew the answer. Irma was as befuddled as he was.

"You mean that actually HAPPENS?" she said. Donatello smiled.

Donatello looked at the crystal, "Oh, here Irma, you better take this crystal back for now"

"I thought you said it was dangerous?" Irma asked

"No, quite the opposite, it gave me a peek into the future, it showed me how to safely operate the portal without draining energy from everything else in the lair. Everyone can afford to have a night in while I work" Donatello revealed

"And you're giving it to me, you're entrusting me with it?" Irma asked. Donatello shrugged

"Hey, you deserve a little pick-me-up on your luck every now and then. Not even you can screw this up" he said. Irma didn't know what to say.

"Master Splinter is right though" Donatello realized, staring at the damaged portal, "As long as I have these spells, I can't work, I'm just going to lie down"

"So the pizza's off the cards?" Irma asked

"Leave it for the guys" Donatello said.

"The Pizza's only good for two" Irma said.

"Their latest attempts at a diet will thank you later" Donatello added.

"Look, I'd better get going anyway, I came down to kill time before I go to attend that dinner arranged in Channel Six's honour by Peirce Mars" she revealed

"The guy who got Channel Six up and running again?" Donatello asked

"Yeah. Loaded guy. He even owns the restaurant we're going to._ "The Red Stake Planet"_. Has a weird obession with gambling though. Despite his wealth. He's always wanted to win the lottery" Irma revealed.

"So the whole staff is meant to be there?" Donatello continued.

"All of us except April, Peirce gave her tickets to that boring opera as a reward for her diligent work in the field. We're all hoping that if we give off a good impression, we'll get similar perks…hopefully more exciting ones too" Irma revealed

"I'm glad Irma. Have a good one. Who knows, with that crystal you might be able to have a more assured time and not get too nervous" Donatello said

Irma was grateful for the encouraging boost of confidence. "Ok" she said, "Just as long as you're ok"

She turned to leave, as she did, a small thought came to her

"Donny?" she said

"Yeah Irma?" Donatello replied

"Just take care of that noggin. Everyone counts on it" she said

"Gee Irma, that's sweet" Donatello said, and waved goodbye to her as she made her way topside.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

It wasn't a long walk to the restaurant, it was only about fifteen minutes or so. Despite this, Irma once again found herself the last to arrive, as everyone else on the Channel Six staff had been punctual enough to arrive early at the behest of their boss, and hers, Burne Thompson.

Irma made her way to the table specially reserved for the staff and sat opposite her co-worker, the ambitious but arrogant Vernon, just as Mr. Thompson was prepping the crew with what seemed on paper to be a motivational speech, but was more a foreboding ultimatum in terms of execution.

"Alright you press-ants" he bellowed, "Mr. Mars is willing to pay for all of us tonight as a show of faith in our abilities, so we've got to show him we have ability. All of us. Do anything short of seeing into the future to impress him, or you know what will happen."

With the speech, and the consequences of failing to match up to, hanging over their heads, the crew immediately began waiting on the guest of honour.

"Oh where IS that waiter?" Vernon asked, already impatient.

"Hey, we haven't ordered yet remember?" Irma pointed out.

"I know" Vernon said, "But I'm eager to impress the boss so I ordered his meal early, his favourite, hot tomato kebab soup"

"I'm pretty certain he likes it cold Vernon" Irma said. Vernon was irked at the notion he had got it wrong.

"I've done my research" he insisted stubbornly "I don't need some uptight typist correcting me on what he likes for dinner.

Irma turned her head away from Vernon, too annoyed to even set eyes on him following that remark.

All of a sudden, she felt a slight tingle, and heard a faint hum as the crystal in her pocket began to glow yet again, just like it had done with Donatello in the lair.

Vernon was quick to notice Irma's weird reaction to the crystal

"And just what is the matter with you now?" he rudely asked.

"Nothing…I think" Irma said, trying to blink, but found herself unable to

"You? Thinking? What an absurd notion" Vernon remarked, and summoned a nearby waiter, the same waiter who had taken his order for soup earlier.

"I say, where is the Kebab soup I ordered?" he asked.

"It's on it's way sir, it's just required a bit of heating up" the waiter verified

"Really? From what I saw, you served it cold…or rather, WILL serve it cold" Irma said, interrupting the two.

"What on Earth makes you come to THAT conclusion?" Vernon said.

"I…I don't know actually. Just had a clear vision of it. In my head" Irma tried to explain, but was left just as confused.

"I don't think anyone cares to peek into your head" a saltier Vernon said

"Wait one moment sir" the waiter said, and returned to the kitchen. As the two waited, Irma tried to make sense of what just happened to her, she tried blinking, and found herself able to this time, she wondered just what had made her freeze earlier.

Eventually, the waiter returned, carrying atop a tray a bowl of red liquid with medium sized kebabs sticking out at the size

"Soup is ready sir" he said, placing it on the table.

"Ah good" Vernon said, licking his lips, "I'll just help myself to a small taste, for the boss sake"

Irma sighed.

Vernon took a sip, only to spit it out.

"Say, this is COLD" he said in alarm. "I ordered it hot"

"Impossible sir" the waiter said, "It was piping hot when it was put into my care"

"Leave it anyway. Mr. Mars likes it cold" Irma replied

"How exactly did you know it'd be served cold Irma?" Vernon asked, this time being sincere with the question instead of addressing it dismissively.

"Beats me" she said, although, given what happened earlier in the lair, she had a fairly big clue.

Outside the restaurant, a group of citizens gathered around as the ominous sight of an alien spacecraft touched down in the middle of the street.

Inside the craft were the enslaved Krator and Malkite, along with Shredder, Rocksteady and Bebop, who were tracking something on a radar of some kind

"My lord Shredder, the Tri-Osteron has been traced to this building" Malkite confirmed.

"Finally, it seems our target has stopped moving" Shredder added.

"That crystal we're after sure has legs" Rocksteady remarked.

"Or rather the person in possession of the crystal does" Shredder replied. "Disembark" he ordered.

The ship's main door opened, and all five stepped out.

"When are we gonna crash and burn the place boss?" Rocksteady asked, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

"We're taking the stealth approach" Shredder revealed. "You two will infiltrate the restaurant. Malkite, Krator and myself will navigate you from the ship as we use it's tracking equipment"

"But boss, read the sign there, it says "no animals allowed" Bebop said, pointing to the mandate at the front of the entrance.

"A problem easily solved by our camouflage equipment" Shredder said, producing a small white orb. "Touch this"

Rocksteady and Bebop complied and put both their hands on it, there was a bright flash and before long their appearances take on the form of regular human beings.

"Look, we look just like we used to" Bebop said with joy.

They also inspected their fashion, dressed in the attire worn by waiters at the establishment.

"I've got cuff-links" Rocksteady said, dazzled by the gold trim.

"You're not here to look the part you fools" Shredder snapped, "Infiltrate the restaurant as waiters and get close to whoever has the Tri-Osteron. Nab it at the first opportunity" he ordered

Shredder suddenly caught a glimpse of the gathering crowd, who were causing a bit of a commotion.

"What's the matter with you lot? You've seen a hi-tech alien spacecraft park in the middle of this city a thousand times already. Nothing to see here, move along" he said.

The crowd, remarkably, saw his point, and quietly went about their own business again.

"Now, you two best make a move on" Shredder said to his bungling henchmen.

"On our way boss" Rocksteady replied

"And when the Tri-Osteron is within our power, the realms of all possibility will forge a dangerous new reality for anyone that stands in my way" Shredder proclaimed.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Rocksteady and Bebop entered the restaurant and were greeted by the sight of elegant men and women attired in black tie garb, and their noses caught the sweet aroma of rich food. "Pretty swanky joint" Rocksteady remarked.

"Are those little micro earphones the boss gave us working?" Bebop said, sticking a finger in his ear, a sight which didn't go unnoticed by a few customers, who averted their gaze. "Let me try mine out" Rocksteady replied, and yelled at the top of his voice

"Hey boss, can you hear us?" he said. "With a pitch like that, of COURSE I can hear you" Shredder whispered, not wanting anyone to hear him on his end, "Speak a little quietly you moron"

"Sure boss" Rocksteady replied, keeping his voice low. "We just entered the place" he confirmed. A waiter swiftly interrupted the two. "You two there look dressed to serve, are you employed here"

"Yeah, the top brass sent us from uptown" Bebop claimed. "Yeah, way up there" Rocksteady added, pointing out the window towards the stars. The waiter understandably didn't get the reference

"Well, what are you two waiting for? Get to work at once" the waiter instructed, and pointed them in the direction of the kitchen. As they passed the customers, one briefly caught Rockstready's eye. A young energetic boy playing with what appeared to be a cybernetic Dinosaur, with a rocket pack attached to it's back, a small laser rifle attached to it's right arm, and a metallic eyepiece covering it's right eye.

Bebop, in a hurry to get to work, grabbed Rocksteady and dragged him through the doors leading to the kitchen.

"Field Marshal Rexington is coming to pass judgement on you hapless citizens" the boy bragged as he played the part of the dinosaur, "Tremble in terror at my sharp teeth that also serve as missile compartments. Mutant humans plague my world, so I plague them. Rarr"

The boy's mother was not impressed with his playful habits at the dinner table

"Larry, I told you not to play with your toys while you've having dinner, now put that thing away and finish your chicken salad"

"Aw mom. I wish Rexington was real, he's the coolest thing in the world" Larry said.

"The coolest thing in the world right now are those fries you havent touched, they're bound to be freezing now" his mother continued, "Why do children put such emphasis on what their imaginations feed on and not their bodies I ask"

Back at the Channel Six table, Thompson was still waiting for his benefactor to arrive. "Oh where IS that oafish bigcat? I did my hardest to get everyone to show up, the least he can do is actually…"

Before he could finish, he noticed Irma was completely ridged, her unblinking eyes staring into space.

"I…I…" Irma said

"I…I…I…what, what, what, Irma?" Thompson asked, slightly annoyed.

"I'm certain Mr. Mars is coming through that door any second now" Irma said, snapping out of the funk.

"What you HOPE will happen won't exactly make me giddy with anticipation" Thompson replied.

The door suddenly opened and in walked a man with grey hair encircling a bald spot, holding a ticket, and looking like he had just walked a mile or so. Thompson immediately recognized him

"Mr. Mars" he said, "Over here"

Vernon was all too keen to point out Irma's accuracy.

"Twice you've got it right now" he said, "That's already way too many in your lifetime. How are you doing this?" he said.

Irma didn't feel like answering his question, even if she had a pretty good answer. She was enjoying being right too much

"Sorry for being late everyone" apologized Peirce Mars, "I was collecting a lottery ticket. Had to wait ages in a queue at the local newsagents"

"Don't worry, we've all shown great patience waiting for, haven't we my friends?" Thompson said, putting on a friendly attitude. Irma was not taken in by the façade

"We're friends now?" she said.

Vernon elbowed her. "Absolutely BUDDY"

"Well now, let's not waste any time" Peirce said, "Let's settle down and order…but before we do, could someone turn on the television just above us? I picked up on the radio that a car chase was in progress between the police and criminal Drew Stryker. I'd like to see how it turns out"

Irma paused again, noticing the glow from her pocket, she was now sure of the cause of her future shocks.

As soon as the glow wore off, Irma made good yet again on her experience.

"Don't worry Mr. Mars, I think they've caught him. They took out both his tires and he struck a lamppost" she said

"Who is this woman" Peirce asked

"Just my secretary Irma Langenstien, I apologise for her sir, when I said "do everything short of looking into the future to impress you" I meant "set yourselves attainable goals"…Irma, you can stop embarrassing yourself now"

One of the staff turned the tv on, a reporter on the scene conveyed the story to the viewer, the image of a heavily damaged car and a man struggling with handcuffs while cops tried to keep him under restraint could be seen in the background.

"And a miraculous, and sudden turn of events have led to the capture of the feared fugitive and bank robber Drew Stryker, his car tyres were hit with bullets fired by determined police officers, causing his vehicle to ram straight into a nearby lamppost"

The Channel Six staff all looked on at Irma in complete shock.

"How did she…how did she…" Thompson said.

"I've been asking the same thing" Vernon added, giving Irma a dirty look, "Spill the secret Irma"

"I must have a real knack for it" Irma said.

"I didn't know you employed psychics Thompson" Peirce said.

Another glow from the crystal came to her, and now she was eagerly awaiting every passing instance of this.

"You might want to turn over to the lottery Mr. Mars, you're going to win" she said. Peirce laughed.

"Oh Mss Langenstien, you are most amusing, but I've never been so lucky with these things" he said

Thompson, however, was smart enough to grasp what was going on, and siezed the opportunity to stay in Peirce's good books

"Take a chance sir, she's been on the ball so far" he said.

Peirce contemplated this for a moment, then made a declaration. "Tell you what", he said, "If my lucky numbers happen to come up, you'll be getting very lucky with the increase in salary I'm willing to give out to the whole team"

"Splendid proposition sir" Thompson said. As Peirce tucked into his cold kebab soup, Thompson strolled over to Irma and delicately whispered something in her ear.

"For all our sakes, YOUR luck better hold out" he said.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Inside the kitchen, the waiter was disputing the kebab soup issue with the head chef

"Don't lie to me, the order was specifically for hot kebab tomato soup" the Waiter said, throwing his finger in the chef's face.

"And that is precisely what you got" the Chef insisted.

"No, it was cold" the Waiter stated.

"And I tell you it was piping hot when it left this kitchen" the Chef revealed, and stood by his word.

The waiter checked his watch, tiring of the argument which had been eating up precious minutes.

"I don't have time for you, there are more orders to come from that table, you'd best hope none come out differently than ordered as well" the waiter said, and turned to take his leave, as he did so, he signalled for Rocksteady and Bebop.

"You two right there" he said, pointing to a large dish whose contents were hidden by a stainless steel lid, "Take this Peking Duck to table five"

"I've heard of peeking toms, but never did I think ducks were just as naughty"

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Back at the Channel Six table, Vernon excused himself

"Sorry everyone, I must nip off to the big boys room" he said, and walked over to the bathroom, while everyone else had their eyes fixated on the television as the weekly lottery numbers were being read out live.

"And the winning numbers are 14, 6, 8,2,4,9" said the announcer.

Peirce Mars rose up out of his seat, ecstatic. He punched the air in excitement.

"I won" he yelled, "I can't believe it. I've always struck out when playing these things. Ms Langenstien, you are truly gifted. My word Thompson, you have a real eye for talent scouting"

"Why thank you sir" Thompson replied, giving Irma a saintly looking gaze.

"I can't believe you've kept this woman at a desk typing up small inconsequential memos for most of her career" Peirce continued.

"You're quite right sir" Thompson admitted, "I think with her unique abilities, she could be an expert player in the field. Provided she passes a few more tests, I think we should promote her to active story analyst"

Irma couldn't believe her luck

"Wow, you really mean that?" she said, "This is so sudden…"

"Sudden…and quite sincere" Thompson replied, "Anything else you want to tell us to instil our confidence in you further?

Irma found herself staring into space, still as a rock yet again as the crystal in her pocket kicked in.

"I…uh…oh my" Irma said in reaction to what she was seeing.

"What is it?" Pierce asked

"I don't think Vernon is coming out of the bathroom quite the same"

The door to the bathroom suddenly burst open and a tall man was seen hoisting out a lean, heavily smoking woman in sharp high heels, a purple shirt and black jeans with braces connecting the two.

"Ladies toilets are THAT way" the man said, and let go of the woman, who took out two cigarettes and put them in her mouth, lighting up both. Everyone at the Channel Six table reacted in pure shock.

"My word…that can't be…can it?" Peirce said.

"Vernon…is that…you" Thompson asked as the features of the woman proved all too familiar to him and his team.

"Vernon?" the woman replied, "The name's VERNA, you should know that by now Thompsy"

"Thompsy?" Irma said, trying not to laugh.

"I say, has anyone served the peking duck yet? I ordered that ages ago" a member of the crew complained, changing the subject.

The doors to the kitchen suddenly burst open and out poured Rocksteady and Bebop carrying a large tray, heading towards the table and nearly tripping up with it in the process. Because of their human appearance, nobody recognized them,

"Dinner is served. Peking Tom anyone?" Rocksteady said. Bebop elbowed him

"It's duck you twit"

Irma froze again, the crystal had something to show her again. "Actually fellas" she said, "You'll find it's pork"

"Is not" said Bebop. "Is too" insisted Irma.

"Take a look under the lid" Bebop ordered. Rocksteady complied. To their surprise, when the lid was lifted, they found it WAS pork. "Told ya" Irma said with a certain degree of confident cheek.

"Splendid. I love pork" said Peirce. "I think your little soothsayer is going to make quite the food analyst too Thompson". Rocksteady pulled Bebop aside and whispered to him, having made a fateful observation "I think I saw something glowing in that bit of skirt's pocket, get in touch with the boss". Bebop quietly talked into the communicator attached to his ear. "Hey Boss, I think we've caught sight of that Tri-Osteron thing" he said

"The readings in the ship correspond with your reports, according to them, you're right on top of it" Shredder confirmed. Bebop swiftly walked over to Irma and grabbed her. "Alright lady, hand it over"

"Let go of me" Irma yelled. "Irma, stop making a scene" Thompson shouted.

Watching the scene unfold was young Larry, who rushed over from his table over to where Irma was stationed. His mother chased after him. Hey, leave that lady alone" Larry yelled

"Or WHAT pip-Squeak?" Rocksteady snarled

"You, you gonna set your rink-dink Dino on us?" Bebop said, taking note of the toy in Larry's hand

"Man if only Rexington was real, he'd sqaush you guys like a bug" Larry cried out.

There was another bright shimmer from Irma's pocket. "Uh oh, be careful what you wish for kid" Irma said, also looking at the toy, which began to glow, before everyone's eyes, it vanished in a huge of green and blue.

"Hey, the toy's gone" Rocksteady noted. "Yeah, but something's taking it's place" Bebop pointed out, as something began to form in front of them, Something bigger. There was a loud snarl, followed by a ferocious roar. Everyone was petrified, except Larry

"Alright, Rexington lives" he said as the tall cybernetic dinosaur stood before the stunned customers, larger than life, and very, very real.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"Oh I wish I'd never found this thing" Irma said, taking the crystal out of her pocket and giving it a cold glare.

A little more aware, Rexington examined his surroundings, he kept the weapon attached to his right arm trained on everyone staring at him. Some customers tried to avoid direct eye contact, hoping he would ignore them.

"Where am I? Wherever it is, it's teeming with…humans" he said, giving Rocksteady and Bebop cold looks

"Humans? Us? No way man, we're mutants, just like you" Rocksteady claimed

"Where I come from, humans ARE the mutants" Rexington revealed

Bebop, panicking, talked into his communicator

"Hey boss, when does this camouflage wear off? We're up to our necks in trouble" Bebop whispered.

"What's going on in there? Have you secured the Tri-Osteron or not?" Shredder replied

"I don't think we're secure at all boss" Bebop replied, scared out of his wits

Rexington's immense curiosity was matched only his immense appetite. Luckily for him there was plenty lying around the establishment to satisfy that too.

"Before I tear all fine folks to shreds, I think I'll tear into these delicious looking specimens" he said, and, with manners befitting a creature of his ilk, he began to chew down on all the food nearest to him, cramming roast chicken, boar, duck, and pork into his mouth, chewing down on all of them one after the other, and even sometimes all at once, before washing it down with plates of hot soup, he even took to devouring the dishes the soups came attached to.

Disgusted by what he was seeing, the head waiter tried to call time on it, lightly tapping Rexington on the shoulder, he made his intent clear

"Excuse me sir" he said with a firm tone, "If you want a meal, you have to take a order, not devour the ones belonging to our other customers"

Rexington grinned, calmly put several of the plates he was drinking out of down, spat out the ones he was eating, turned around, wrapped his left arm around the waiters shoulder, and, from his left hand, produced a rifle that he pressed hard against the waiters face.

" The only order I serve is the C.W.O: Carnivore World Order, and if you want to keep a level head, if a head at all, you'll let me dine in peace" he said, in as condescendingly polite manner as he could manage.

The waiter gulped, and checked his pulse, fearing the sheer terror of his situation would send him into cardiac arrest before the ravenous rex could even pull the trigger on his gun

"Whatever you wish sir" he said

Rexington looked around and let out a sigh and a few tuts, it was almost as if the place was already beginning to bore him

"Nah, I've changed my mind" he said, "I think I'll eat on the go, tell you what, I'll eat, and YOU'LL GO"

Rexington pulled back from the waiter, raised his weapon upwards, and pulled the trigger. Hot, intense laser fire erupted from it, piercing the ceiling and scattering debris all over the place, he twirled around, allowing his weapon to level dishes, cut through table legs and shatter windows.

Rocksteady and Bebop did what came naturally to them in light of such grave danger, they ran away. The remainder of the restaurant's inhabitants quickly followed them out of the building

"This guy's wilder to handle than us at a fairground" Rocksteady remarked.

"Hey, where'd that Irma broad go to?" Bebop asked, not realizing Irma had made a dash for freedom

Outside, Irma ran as fast as she could into the main street, Verna closely following her

"Do you have to be so fast?" Verna complained "I can't keep up in these heels"

"Call the cops or something" Irma said, panicked, "You're the one with the phone"

Verna seemed to take exception to this notion.

"Excuse me? Do you know how expensive this is? It's purely for show, I wouldn't dream of punching these sweaty digits on the number keys and disrupting it's pristine quality"

"Fine then, I'll put in a green alert" Irma said, and activated her Turtle-com. Donatello promptly answered.

"Irma? What is it now" he said

"Don, that crystal of ours worked just as you said, I could totally see into the future…oh, but it's horrible, all these bizarre things have been happening, and if you don't get down here fast, we all won't see tomorrow, there's a dangerous dino kicking up a storm at the _Red Stake Planet__…_also, I'm not entirely sure, but I think I'm also being hunted by…

"Hold everything ma'am" came a voice from behind her. Irma turned around and reacted in sheer shock

"Shredder" she said as she recognized the masked maniac, flunked by his two enslaved alien allies, Malkite and Krator

"Our readers are accurate master, she has the Tri-Osteron" Krator confirmed.

"Then your future is most assuredly cloudy Ms Langenstien" cackled Shredder.

Irma let out a corny, but, given the circumstances, a much overdue, "uh oh"

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

At the lair, Donatello sprung into action, or at least tried to, when he suddenly felt very faint again.

"Oh no" he said, "Irma's in real trouble, and I still haven't shaken this headache…but I can't worry about that just now, she needs me"

He thought about Master Splinter, and how he might object, he decided to do something drastic, but necessary. He would lie to his sensei

He didn't want to make too much of a song and dance, so he quicky power-walked past his sensei, sprawled on the sofa watching his soaps on the laptop, and talked to him a few meters from the exit tunnel.

"Master? I'm just going out to buy some aspirin, tell the others not to worry about me" he yelled, before swiftly disappearing down the tunnel, heading topside to aid Irma.

Splinter, however, was not easily fooled by this. So sharp were his ears and so alert were his senses, that he had overheard everything.

"My son seeks to do a brave thing, the right thing, but his body remains in the wrong state. One cannot complete a trust exercise if there is noone to catch him" he pondered, and swiftly activated his own Turtle-Com and got in touch with the others. Leonardo appeared on the screen.

"Yes master?" Leonardo said.

"The presence of our lethal enemy Shredder is nearby. Donatello seeks him out on his own Make your way over to the _Red Steak Planet _restaurant andassist him" Splinter instructed

"Raph isn't too far away from it, I'll contact him. I just picked up Michelangelo and April from the opera" Leonardo confirmed, being interrupted by Michelangelo

"And about time bro, that was mondo boring" he said, he was joined in this opinion by April

"You can say that again" she said "Operas are so dull and dreary, constantly hammering tragedy and depressing emotions down our throats, trust me, it's so much better when you have a life of the party like Mike around to liven it all up"

April looked at Splinter's down face

"What's up Splinter?" she said

"Your friend Irma is in grave danger" Splinter expressed "I only pray the pieces of the chess board come together in time for the endgame"

"We're on our way master" Leonardo said, and put the pedal to the metal. A screech of tires, a 180 degree turn and the Turtle Van soon tore down the streets of New York towards their intended destination, and to Donatello's aid.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Outside the restaurant, Shredder was closing in on Irma, keeping a beady eye on the crystal in her hand.

"Last warning" he said, "Hand over what is mine by divine destiny, or it will be taken from you, along with anything that happens to be attached to it"

"You'd better not try me Shredder" Irma snapped back, "Do you forget what I did to you the last time something weird happened to me?" she said, reminding him of the time she acquired super powers.

"How could I forget?" Shredder replied, "Krang made me take money out of my fifteen year built vacation fund to repair the Technodrome that time. Plus the money for Bebop and Rocksteady's college education. Everything except his damn laundry fund"

"Well then, you know what I'm capable of" Irma bragged.

"True, but if you'll find I'm stepping into new territory" Shredder replied as Malkite and Krator moved forward, "You may be familiar with me, but you're not so freshly acquainted with my two friends here"

He looked to both of them, and pointed at Irma, "Seize her" he commanded.

As Malkite and Krator closed in on the brave, but frightened Irma, they were distracted by a huge explosion and the shattering of glass as the restaurant behind them was torn apart. Rocksteady and Bebop ran screaming out of the establishment, with Rexington in hot pursuit.

"Boss, help" Rocksteady cried, holding on to Shredder's leg.

"How do we get turned off?" Bebop asked, on his knees, pleading.

"By imagining your boss in his underwear?" Irma suggested

"I mean "turn off these human disguises" you dumb broad" Bebop snapped

Shredder shook Rocksteady off of his leg and produced the orb from his belt

"Touch this" he instructed, Rocksteady and Bebop complied, touching the orb, there was a bright flash, and the two returned to their usual and unsavoury mutant appearance.

"Alright, I've got the horn again" Rocksteady said jubilantly

"Boy do I need a man to ever say that to me" Irma remarked.

Rexington approached them, his one metallic eye, serving as a laser tracking system, targeted the foreheads of Shredder's bungling henchmen.

"So…you WERE telling the truth" he said, "You aren't human"

"Yeah, but THAT human has something we want" Rocksteady said, suddenly overwhelmed by a burst of inspired thinking on his part, and pointed to Irma.

"Really now?" Rexington said, powering up his gun, "Humans having their hands on anything gets me hot, and nothing makes me hotter than a thieving FEMALE"

"With my fashion sense, I don't get that with a lot of males" Irma remarked

"Fitting it is then that the sentence for theft is warm liquidation" Rexington replied, and put his gun on the setting for such a feat.

Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his shoulder, he turned around and was met with the full force of a bo staff all across his face.

"Irma, get behind me" spoke a soft and courageous voice. It was Donatello.

Irma did as she was told and ran over, hiding behind Donatello's shell as he backed away from Rexington

"Alright you anarchists…and…erm…aliens" he said, noting the otherworldly apperances of Malkite and Krator, "Don't take one step towards her"

"There are six of us, and two of you. The odds are not in your favour" Malkite pointed out

"Haven't you ever watched one episode of this show? The odds are destined for defiance where we're concerned" Donatello boasted.

"Don't waste time talking" an impatient Shredder commanded "Take action and seize the Tri-Osteron"

"Tri-what-so-ron?" Donatello said, "Irma, do they mean the crystal?"

Shredder turned to Malkite "use the laser rife I gave you. Take them out"

Malkite obeyed and targeted Donatello with the rifle, he prepared to open fire when Irma caught sight of it

"Donny, look out" she cried

As the rife flared into life, dazzling shots of firepower erupted from it, Donatello however, was able to sway back and forth and from side to side, managing to duck all the shots fired.

"Thank goodness for those stealthy ninja moves" Irma observed.

"What moves? I'm having more of those dizzy spells" Donatello replied.

"I have him in my sights master" Malkite said, as Donatello taking a pause to tell Irma to flee created an opening for him.

"Fire" Shredder instructed

"Or better yet…water" came another cry to their left. There, standing next to a fire hydrant, was Raphael, he turned the nuzzle on the hydrant and a jet of clear H20 was thrown in the direction of Malkite and Krator, drenching them.

"Raph" Donatello yelled, "How was the comedy club?"

"The club was alright, a lot of modern joke acts were on hand, but I couldn't resist classics like Shredder and his goons" Raphael remarked.

"Rexington, get after them" Shredder yelled.

"I take no orders from you human ratscans" Rexington replied

"Oh, oh, "ratscans", that sounds like a good name for a toy boss" Rocksteady suggested

"Does this LOOK like a toy commercial?" Shredder replied

"I take what I want, and I like the look of that object" Rexington said as he eyed up the crystal, "Once I toast the human and her helpers, I'll trade it in for cold hard cash"

Donatello held his ground, but he needed Irma to move away from him and out of danger, he turned to advise her on this, only to find Irma frozen, staring into space yet again, and the crystal in her hand glowing.

"Oh no, not this again" Irma said, every time I have one of these there's trouble"

"What's happening?" Raphael said.

"Don, take that crystal already" Irma snapped, Donatello complied, as he did so, Irma's whole body began to glow

"I'm having another premonition" Irma said, although with the crystal out of her reach she didn't know why she was still having them, "Oh" she said, and smiled, "good news Don, I think I'm about to enter this fight…any minute…"

Before she could finish, there was a large flash of light and Irma briefly vanished in view before someone took her place, the same person, but her attitude and outlook had undergone a drastic transformation, she looked hardened, more chiselled, a bandana across her forehead, a machine gun in hand, and a toothpick in her mouth, her eyes, though still behind horn-rimmed glasses, were sharp and stealthy.

"Now…where were we?" she said, her voice sounding distinctly more like a female Sly Stallone.

"Irma is that…you?" Donatello said in alarm

"She looks like Rambo's librarian" Raphael noted

"Wait…where am I?" the badass Irma said, examining her surroundings "This isn't the Prime Conductor's main office"

"Prime Conductor?" Donatello said in confusion.

"Donny? Is that you?" Irma said, "I thought you were hiding in Europe, what are you doing in New York?"

"Irma, I don't know what you're doing dressed like a combat wombat, but you might want to take cover and let us handle this prehistoric putz" Raphael said as Rexington closed in on them, his gun cocked and loaded

"So, the soft little thing has hardened up has she?" Rexington observed, "Let's see if we can strike a dent in her armour"

He pulled the trigger on his weapon, Irma, instinctively, rolled out of the way and activated her own weapon. A cruel clash of wits soon unfolded on the city streets as the two tried to cut the other down with their awesome firepower.

Shredder tried to take control of the situation and yelled instructions to Rocksteady and Bebop.

"What are you two waiting for? That Turtle by his own admission has the shakes, seize advantage of that and take the Tri-Osteron from him" he said.

"Gotcha boss" Rocksteady said in agreement, and he and Bebop charged at the Turtles

Donatello's dizzy spells began to haunt him yet again, he began feeling overwhelmed as the tension heightened.

"Don, are you ok?" Raphael asked, grabbing Donatello as he tried to sit down

"I'll be ok Raph, I'm just a little light" he said

"He won't be ok for long" Rocksteady claimed as he and Bebop zeroed in on the two.

"Back off, he's not well" Raphael said, shielding Donatello with the back of his shell, holding him upright

"Don't worry, after we take the crystal, we'll make sure he goes to the hospital" Bebop sarcastically replied, cracking his knuckles.

Before they could advance further and dish out physical trauma, they were distracted by a sudden screech of tyres as the Turtle Van pulled up.

"Hey look, it's the party wagon" Bebop said

The main doors of the van open and the remaining Turtles, plus April, poured out.

"Forgive the rhyme, but we're bang on time" Michelangelo proclaimed, twirling his nun-chucks.

"Let's tread on some shells" Rocksteady said. The two ran towards Leonardo and Michelangelo with their fists clenched.

There was a large-scale physical tussle as the Turtles danced around the two heavies with their patented martial arts moves and skill with weapons. Eventually, after managing to knock them around with careful shots to the stomach and the back of the head, Leonardo and Michelangelo picked the two up and held them high in the air.

"Woah, put us down, put us down" Rocksteady yelled.

"Alright, your horn is way too small and your ears make Dumbo feel like a regular person" Michelangelo replied

"Somehow I don't think he meant put them down like THAT Michelangelo" Leonardo pointed out.

"I hear you bro" Michelangelo said, "Prepare for turbulence, you two are in for a bumpy landing" he told the two malicious mutants as he and Leonardo threw them across the street.

"For a rhino and a warthog, you two never cease to be turkeys" Leonardo remarked

"Oh gravity, how I wish you'd act up just this once and keep those two suspended in the air for all eternity" Shredder cried out to the heavens in dismay.

Leonardo ran up to Donatello and tended to his brother

"Donatello, you shouldn't have went off on your own without back-up" he advised

"Hey, it was IRMA that was in trouble, he probably though it'd be the easiest gig in the world" Raphael argued in Donatello's defence.

"Where IS Irma anyway?" Leonardo asked

"Oh, she's taking out roborex over there" Raphael said, pointing to the firefight between her and Rexington a few meters from them.

April was flabbergasted by Irma's look

"That's Irma? Boy I wouldn't want to turn her down for a raise in that condition" she said

She was suddenly approached by Thompson, who had Peirce Mars in tow.

"April, there you are" he said

"Mr. Thompson, how'd dinner go" she asked

"The food for thought is right over there, get to covering it" Thompson said, also pointing to the battle being waged by his secretary and the dino-borg.

"Yes sir, I've got my camera right here" April said, pointing to her handy bit of apparatus.

"Thompson, if all goes well and we survive this, your future at Channel Six is going to be quite bright" Peirce promised.

"Oh I love the song of your praise Mr. Mars" Thompson replied, beaming with enthusiasm.

The battle had been evenly matched between Irma and Rexington for some time now, but the tide seemed about to turn as Irma ran out of bullets.

"Nothing left in the tank human?" Rexington spoke, "A pity, I on the other hand am built like one"

"Leave her alone" Donatello said, again putting himself between Irma and the dinosaur.

"Don, is all that spinning in your head tossing your brain around? Get away from him" Raphael yelled

Donatello closed his eyes and concentrated, "Remember what the tapes said" he whispered to himself, "I am in control, I am in control"

The Turtles all screamed and shouted for Donatello to get out of Rexington's way but he held his ground, calmed and centred. Rexington put his gun away and made a dash for him, intending to run him down with his mammoth frame

"Hold it" Donatello said, the killer getting closer and closer, "Hold it…"

His eyes snapped open

"NOW" he cried, and hit Rexington hard in the guit with his bo-staff. The dinosaur winced in pain

"Oh, right in the Sauros-plexis" he said.

"Great shot bro, now HIS head is spinning like a drier" Michelangelo said.

Rexington let out a violent burp, followed up by an increasingly loud fart, and then, to everyone's disgust, let out a massive depositing of droppings on the ground

"Eww" came the collective gags of all those witnessing the filthy spectacle.

"Now look what you made me do" Rexington said, close to tears, "I sure shouldn't have tucked into that roast boar earlier"

"Those droppings smell like fifteen pairs of unwashed bandanas" Michelangelo said

"It smells worse than the average day at a beach near a sewage drain" Raphael added.

The only one not phased at all was Irma.

"Smells like victory to me" she said, and took out a few pieces of hardware from her skirt pocket, "Now, if you'll excuse me folks, it's hammer time"

She walked over to Rexington and proceeded to beat him over the head with twin bull hammers.

"Oh, don't, I'm sensitive in those places" Rexington begged

"Too bad, I'm not really all that sensitive" Irma replied

"You really have a flare for combat" Donatello observed, "You always did"

"Hey, I've had fifteen years of hard labour to practise where I come from" Irma replied

Donatello was beginning to understand what was happening all too clearly.

"You're not our Irma are you?" he asked

What do you mean "Not YOUR Irma?" she said.

"I don't think my Irma, OUR Irma, could see the future, I think she's been seeing POSSIBLE futures that have somehow been brought into our world, replacing the original versions in the process" he explained

Raphael noticed that Malkite and Krator were coming to.

"Look out guys, those two alien affiliates of Shredder are stirring"

Krator shook his head, he felt like he had just woken from a strange dream "What happened? Malkite, are you ok?"

"I believe so" Malkite said as he shook off his own cobwebs, "That jet of water must have washed out those Slaver worms. My mind is my own again"

"Shredder had you guys brainwashed? That's a releif" Leonardo said.

"Maybe you could tell us what's going on here" Donatello added, "Maybe you can tell us what's going on here…like what this weird crystal is and why Shredder wants it so badly"

"The Tri-Osteron? It is a sentient gem that has awareness of the mutliverse spectrums of all creation" Malkite explained, "It can grant it's bearers insight into all manners of possible futures and outcomes. It has helped us discover the cures for various illnesses afflicting our people, and advised us on what actions can lead away from violent wars. Itc forms graceful symbiosis with whoever wields it. It is harmonious and normally quite safe"

"But why does Shredder of all people want it?" Donatello inquired, before taking a moment to think it out for himself.

"Unless" he said, dwelling on it, "Unless he wants to view a future where he and Krang work out how to operate the upgraded Technodrome so they can learn the right techniques to bring it under control"

"A brilliant deduction for someone who's only been on the scene for five minutes" Shredder said.

"So why is it leaving the door open for carnivorous cons like that dino dude?" Michelangelo asked

"We are as confused as you are" Krator replied, "The Tri-Osteron's original function is as a window into possibility, not serve as a conduit for them. Somehow it must have been tampered with"

"This crystal, does it operate on a lower vibration trans-dimensional frequency?" Donatello asked

"Yes" Krator confirmed, "You are familiar with such things?""

"I think I'm responsible for all this" Donatello replied, "…I had this in my possession a few hours ago and took a spill near a piece of delicate dimension hopping equipment, the crystal must have absorbed the energy generated from my portal when it was activated and it's somehow mutated and rewrote it's coding."

"And now that the Tri-Osteron is making all possibility concrete reality, I don't need to look at a scenario where the Technodrome is at full power, all I need do is take the crystal and bring an even more terrifying and powerful one into this dimension." Shredder boasted.

"But you'll probably bring in another more lethal and dangerous Shredder, didn't you learn your lesson from last time?" Leonardo asked

"Everything needs a little more me in it, why settle for that when you can have a LOT more?" Shredder replied

Michelangelo turned to Donatello, who was scratching away at his head, pondering the problem further.

"Any light bulbs going off in that bright head Don?" he asked

"It's almost like the Tri-Osteron's caught a virus…and that may just be our solution!" Donatello replied.

"Solution to what?" Krator inquired

Donatello handed Michelangelo the crystal, "take this" he said, before producing another small object from his belt, "And this"

Michelangelo was stunned at what was being put in his hand, and wondered just what Donatello had going on in his head.

"Dude, isn't that the 4K thing you've been working on?" he said

"Attach it to the Tri-Osteron" Donatello instructed

Michelangelo complied, attaching the small bug to the crystal.

Irma suddenly shouted at them, Rexington had now managed to power out of her beatings and was wrestling her in a test of strength

"We've got problems fellas" she said "Guess that first bit of wind gave him a second burst of it, I can't hold him off for much longer"

After a bit more pulling and pushing, Rexington finally swatted Irma aside and targeted the Turtles with his shoulder missile targeting system

"Any last letters of the alphabet?" he hissed

"Shouldn't it be "any last words?"" said Michelangelo.

"Words form sentences, sentences can go on forever. Everybody knows "Z" is the end" Rexington explained

"So why don't you just use a regular countdown…preferably from "10"" Michelangelo suggested

"A countdown eh?" Rexington pondered, "That sounds fair"

"Alright" Michelangelo said

"A good thing I only know two numbers" Rexington added.

Michelangelo gulped

"One of them wouldn't happen to be my lucky one right?" he said.

"On One…One…Zero" Rexington said, giving noone a chance, and activated his shoulder missile.

Michelangelo closed his eyes and pointed the Tri-Osteron at Rexington.

Suddenly, there was a loud hum, and, instead of a missile shooting out, it was instead replaced by a huge jet of water that covered and drenched Michelangelo.

"Thanks for the refresher dude. That opera I was at earlier really was completely dry"

"Did that deranged Dino's missile launcher just turn into a water pistol?" Raphael said in amazement

"Hey, anyone of you care to explain why my mallets have suddenly turned to squeegees" Irma asked, pointing to her formerly hard and heavy utensils

"The 4K virus is doing it's thing" Donatello proclaimed proudly.

"How DOES the virus work anyway?" Leonardo asked

"It's programmed to "readjust", or "censor" anything that is harmful to the subjects body or anything surrounding it. It works on a trans-dimensional frequency, meaning it takes the least harmful elements, the opposites of what it detects to be harmful, and trades places with them. A germ becomes a blood cell, bullets become bits of rubber, and so on. Once I knew what the Tri-Osteron was in it's mutated state, I applied the virus to it and it fortunately was able to corrupt it's matrix and become a conduit for those harmless aspects"

"You sure have covered all the bases Don" Leonardo said, congratulating his brother.

"Thanks. Had the virus been used on the Technodrome as I'd originally intended, It would have rendered it's weapon systems completely useless" Donatello revealed

"So long as that giant eyeball becomes a gob-stopper I'm all for that" Raphael remarked

"Now all we have to figure out is how to send this enraged enforcer home" Leonardo said.

"Worry not my friends, the dawn of your salvation has come" Malkite said

"Woah…you mean, now that your minds are screwed on the right way, you can conjure up a nifty thing-a-ma-jig to disable that trinket?" Michelangelo asked, thinking he'd get it right.

"No he means it literally" Krator revealed, pointing to the outbreak of dawn over the city as the sun came into view.

"Woah…he's right, we've been up the whole night fighting tackling these goons" Michelangelo said.

Donatello looked at the crystal

"Something's happening, the Tri-Osteron is changing colour" he observed.

"With the advent of sunrise, the Tri-Osteron reverts to an ordinary trinket. Night falls very little in our home dimension, so the crystal's unique gifts are of a rare and celebrated occurrence to us."

A series of shimmers could be heard, Rexington let out a loud roar of defiance before vanishing in a flash. In his place was the action figure that, in this reality, he was represented by.

Larry, who had hung around as a spectator to the whole fight, quickly ran up to snatch back what belonged to him

"Awesome…you've gotta tell me how you turn him back into this" he asked the Turtles, "They'll sell billions over Christmas"

However, his mother was not about to let him take the toy home with him, she smacked it out of his hands and dragged away. Michelangelo picked it up.

"Don't worry little dude, I know an excellent home for this" he said, chuckling to himself, knowing full well he was going to spend endless hours playing with it.

Also watching this unfold was Pierce and Thompson

"What a story, I hope your crew are on top of things Thompson" Pierce said.

"My best saw all this coming, and my brightest has got it all on camera" Thompson bragged.

April handed Peirce the camera. "Here you go Mr. Mars, all the footage from tonight's mishaps"

"Splendid" Mars said, "Burne, I think it's fair to say you have earned not just a bonus, but a promotion, as of this moment…"

There was a large flash and Peirce vanished.

"He's gone" Thompson said in alarm

"Even worse, he took the camera with him, and with it, another Pulitzer guarantee" April said, disheartened. Her despair was briefly lifted when she caught sight of Verna

"Erm…Vernon? Is there something different about you?" she said

"For the last time people, I'm…" Verna began, only to be cut off by a flash. In a matter of moments, she too vanished from view, and soon replaced by the real, and very male, Vernon.

"April? Is that you? Am I…yes. YES, I'm home" he said, beaming with delight "I'm home, I know I am. Thank heavens"

He kneeled down and passionately kissed the ground.

"What happened to you?" April asked, examining his face, "You look so pale"

"I''s not paleness, it's mascara" Vernon explained, "I was held down by these alleged "B. " who thought I was someone called "Verna" and given a makeover against my will. They seemed to enjoy my helplessness, thinking I was playing up to the cameras

"Cameras?" April asked

"It was a live newscast going out to the world, or whatever mad world I was inhabiting…nothing but facials, and very cross dressers. A soulless humourless place obsessed with makeovers and reality tv gossip" Vernon explained

"You sure you were off this planet with a description like that?" joked April

"Looks like everyone's being pulled back to where they belong" observed Donatello.

"And it looks like this where we part company" Irma said, as she too began to fade from view.

"Thanks for everything "Ram-Ma"" Raphael said.

"You took an awfully big risk distracting that dinosaur for us" Donatello complimented, "You could have been hurt"

Irma smiled, and stroked Donatello's face, "Hey, everything is well worth the risk for the Turtle you lov…"

With a bright flash of green energy, she too vanished, and replaced by the regular Irma everyone knew.

"Oh Don, it was horrible" she said, "I was stuck in a world where everyone had united against a toletarian government that demanded it's people pay twice the legal fee if you were double-parked. I never knew that's all it took to push people over the edge"

"The important thing is regular you is back, I don't know what we'd do with another minute of macho Irma" Leonardo remarked.

"Oh. I missed that? I kinda like macho" Irma said, putting a finger on her chin and staring into space. She took another glance at Donatello

"What's up with you?" she said.

Donatello said nothing, he just wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly. Irma, initially baffled, took to liking the gesture, and returned it in kind with a firm hug of her own.

Observing the return to normalcy was Shredder, who was none too pleased with this turn of events.

"Those blasted Turtles. They've thwarted our plans again" he snapped.

"It's a good thing we didn't bring our blueprints, they'd have trodden all over them" Bebop said in reflection. Shredder smacked him across the head and activated his communicator, putting him in touch with Krang at the Technodrome.

"Krang, open the portal and get us out of here." he said. In a matter of moments, the portal shimmered into view. Shredder turned to enter it, only to step into Rexington's leftover dinosaur droppings.

"When I said I wanted to step into uncharted territory, I didn't't mean this" he said, and, with his two underlings, entered the portal.

"Shredder and the lacklustre lackeys are getting away" Raphael said, but before he could play catch-up, the portal closed.

"Ah nuts" Raphael said, "And just when it looked like we'd hit a slam- dunk, they've moved off the court"

"At least the present danger has passed" Leonardo said.

Michelangelo walked over to Krator and handed them the Tri-Osteron.

"You might want to take this dude" he said.

Thank you strange creatures for all you have done, and for freeing our enslaved minds" Krator replied

"I still have to take responsibility for tainting your crystal" Donatello said apologetically, "It's mutation might be permanent, and could to pull in outcomes from other realities from this point onwards whenever night falls on your home dimension. It looks like you'll have to destroy it."

"I'm afraid The Tri-Osteron is made of an unbreakable substance and cannot be so easily dealt with" Malkite explained, "Besides, we can always make use of you 4K virus to hold off any trouble until the inevitability of sunrise."

"That is, if you don't mind" Krator added.

Donatello tried to chime in on this. "Yeah, actually I…"

"Splendid then. Let us return home Malkite" Krator said, clambering into the pairs' star craft, followed by Malkite.

"No wait, I need that virus to…" Donatello said, but no other words fell on either of the aliens ears as the door to the star craft shut. In a matter of seconds, the vessel's engines were activated and the ship began to rise high above the assembled crowd's gaze, turned right, and glided through the sky en route to the aliens home dimension, far out of reach of the Earth.

"Nevermind" Donatello said with a heavy sigh.

"Bum deal dude" Michelangelo said, putting a hand on Donatello's shoulder. Raphael joined in, putting his own hand on Donatello's other shoulder.

"I know it's back to the drawing board Don, but next time it'd be wiser to add in a padlock on whatever it is you make…"

So lost in the moments associated with April losing her story and the departure of the star craft was Burne Thompson that he hadn't noticed Pierce Mars had just pulled up in his car, and had spent the last few seconds witnessing the destruction of his restaurant.

"Thompson…just what the devil happened?" Pierce said

"Mr. Mars, sir, I'm so glad you're alright" Thompson said in relief, Peirce's apparent reappearance finally registering with him, "We thought you'd been abducted by aliens…

"I apologise for being late, I was just on my way back from the newsagents, I was getting a lottery ticket" Peirce revealed.

"It's alright, we covered that bit when you arrived. You won." Thompson explained.

"What are you babbling about? I saw the lottery draws on the televisions on display in the shops. I came up short, and I only just GOT here, I didn't't arrive early." Pierce pointed out.

Thompson sensed that this time things weren't going to go right.

"But…but,…what about that huge salary for me and my crew you promised?" he said, testing just how badly things were going.

"I promised nothing of the sort, but given what's happened to this place, maybe a raise isn't a bad idea…"

"Ah good" Thompson said.

"You'll need all the money you can get to pay for the damages to this place out of your pocket" Pierce sharply said

"…But…but…" Thompson began, but he knew all was lost

"See you at work bright and EXTREMLY early Thompson" Pierce said, going back to his car, slamming the door and driving away, leaving Thompson eating the smoke that fired out of the motor.

"Gee for his sake, he better not have a power breakfast next time" Irma remarked. Donatello laughed.

Thompson, however, didn't see the funny side.

"YOU!" he said, pointing his finger at Irma.

"Me?" Irma replied, pointing at herself.

"Your "soothsaying" is what got me in this mess to begin with" Thompson yelled, "I don't know how I've put up with you for so long…but time teaches us all lessons. You're fired!"

April reacted in alarm.

"You can't do that, it wasn't her fault" she said.

" Yeah, besides, one version of her saved all our tails" Michelangelo pointed out.

"Yes, and if she'd remained in this dimension I'd have gleefully hired her and STILL would have sacked this incompetent…**Chick**-munk" Thompson concluded.

The choice of insult was enough to bring out Irma's own aggressiveness.

"Chick-munk? Oh you've done it this time" Irma said, she rolled up her sleeves and walked towards Thompson, who backed away

"Now Irma, don't do anything rash…keep back…what do you think you're doing?"

"I think you get into the thick of the story…here, I'll help you cover it head to toe" she said, and shoved Thompson, causing him to trip and fall into the dinosaur droppings.

"Let's go Irma, there's nothing more we can do here" Donatello said, escorting Irma away

"Yeah, while it's not his mess, it's best to let him lie in it" Raphael remarked.

**TO BE CONCLUDED**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

Back at the Technodrome, Krang awaited the return of his cohorts. Soon enough, they were all pouring into the base as the portal opened.

"Well, well, well, hail the conquering ZEROS" Krang moaned

Shredder grabbed Rocksteady and Bebop by the scruff of their necks.

"I can't believe you two, you've ran away from far worse things, like ME for example" he said

"I'd argue that T-Rex had more packed in his small lobe than you have in your boots AND brain right now Shredder" Krang added. Wanting to throw Shredder as many put-downs as he deserved for this latest failing.

"Mock me if you must Krang, but mark my words, eventually we WILL work out how to operate the Technodrome, and when we do, the Earth and any other world we set our eyes on will tremble at our feet…"

He paused, something had inspired him

"…But for the time being" he said, looking to his two henchmen, "You two nitwits can set about trembling at MY feet as you clean them up"

Rocksteady and Bebop took one glance at the mess on Shredder's boots and cringed

"I'll get the shoe shine" Rocksteady said

"Clean them…with your LIPS" Shredder added.

"Uh-oh" the two said collectively.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

Back at the Turtles' lair, everyone was starting to relax. Irma had even elected to run a hot foot bath for Donatello, just to give him an excuse to sit down and calm his nerves after a taxing ordeal all evening trying to keep his headaches in check.

"Don, it's ready" she said. Donatello came over and dipped his feet into the soothing warm water, he let out a relaxed and chilled sigh

"Oh that's hit the spot" he said, "Thanks"

"We're sorry we got you fired from Channel Six Irma" Leonardo said as the remaining Turtles sat down to watch television with April.

"Oh don't worry about it you guys" Irma replied, keeping a positive outlook, "I wasn't going places there anyway. There was a glass ceiling and I'm just not the type to wear a glass slipper"

"So what will you do now?" April asked.

"Yeah, will you open up a dating agency and lure in all those poor unsuspecting dishes to your wicked cabin?" Raphael sarcastically added.

"I was thinking of getting a lot more physical" Irma replied "…and by that I mean indulging in my aerobics videos."

Donatello suddenly sprung up and began boxing with the air, swaggering from side to side

"That's a great idea Irma" he said, "I really could with that myself"

"Woah, what's gotten into you tiger?" Irma said.

"I've been pent up in my lab for so many months now, this little adventure reenergized me, I could take on the world, heck given what we were up against tonight, I could take on all those thousands of worlds sitting side-by-side with ours. I'd take them any day of the week" he said

As amazed as she was by Donatello's incredible display of energy, Irma couldn't help but notice he was starting to get a little too excited

"Donny, you might want to watch your…" Irma began, Donatello cut her off

"Even with these dizzy spells, I've never felt so balanced" he said, and tried to kick the air, just as he did so, he had another spell, lost his balance, tripped and fell backwards, as he did so, his leg caught the side of the basin, causing it to tilt upwards and drench the Turtle in the soapy water

"I could see that one coming a mile away" Irma said, which triggered a large chorus of laughter from everyone assembled

**THE END**


End file.
